( 10:04 AM )
Hello, I Love You
Man, November 2, 2004 is going to be a great day to be an American. Democrats are going to have near landslide wins across the country and I say it's about time.
What leads me to this woulda-been-delusional-belief 12 months ago? Well mostly the Demcoratic convention. Between Barack Obama's uplifting keynote address and Bill Clinton's awesome framing of the choices we face, I'm proud to be a Democrat again. And I'm finally psyched about being in Boston for the convention.
It's been a lot of hard work for me and I'm not sure that I agree with all the choices my company made, but in speaking to delegates, friends, hearing many speeches, working with organizers and hanging with our interns, I've come to find a sense of pride in being involved in this (sometimes) silly display of democracy.
I'm spending my time with people who are jazzed to see and hear politicians. We're having strong political debates - about policy, potentials, platforms and platitudes. I've seen & spoken to delegates who found it worth their while to attend a discussion on trade issues and who were already thinking ahead and hoping for a "Edwards-Obama" ticket in 2012. I've heard from like-minded progressive magazine folks about the problems our magazines will face with a President Kerry, but who are looking forward to the challenge of keeping our magazines successful and afloat during the Kerry Administration. And I'm getting energy from our interns who are curious about the process and buzzed from all the free drinks they've been scoping out.
Lefties (hell, even some radicals) have basically consented to put our differences behind us and unite behind a (soon-to-be) nominee who we can at least be sure will hear us (and even the non-crazy right) out. He's a smart guy who's demonstrated more bravery than anyone reading this blog. And I'm down for a little wisdom in the White House.
So I hope you're watching this convention (C-SPAN is always this blog's visual medium of choice, but most of the cable outlets seem to be offering decent night time coverage) and getting the vibe the Democrats are sending. In their united-ness, they're going to increase voter turn out to what I believe will be near record turnout numbers. And the people who will be getting off their asses for the first time this November are the ones who are mad and looking for an alternative to the lies and arrogance. People have the power in the vote (regardless of what I wrote in the prior post) and I feel like this convention is going to inspire them to use it. And when they do, Republicans are going to pay a heavy price across the country in federal, state and local elections. Here's hoping Kerry will give them a reason to vote again.
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6 comments
( 11:12 AM )
I'm Free
Yo peeps - on the run in Boston for the Democratic Convention. So far it's been slightly more dull than interesting, but the political boob in me is kinda glad to be here. There have been thousands of events going on - everything from protests, to campaign training, to after hours parties, to daytime forums, to the convention itself. So I've been crazy busy running around for The Nation and trying to have some fun.
Lot of headaches though. I'm mostly working with our interns who are wonderful kids, but they ask A LOT of questions, and most seem afraid to take the initiative. They're learning though, and they're getting me off my ass at night to go out.
The absolute worst part of this is we're staying in apartments that over look Fenway Park and once again, I can't make time to go to one of the world's great ballparks because I've got to work. God definitely has something against me in this vein. (Oh yeah - the Sox were playing the Yankees.)
Alright - I'll have more when I can actually sit down and think for a minute. Most pressing on my mind is the phoniness of things. Last night Bill Clinton and Al Gore spoke about the importance of counting every vote. Yet earlier in the day, the Center For Voting Rights sponsored an event where they made it clear that there should be some kind of federal guidelines to federal elections. One million black voters' votes were not counted in Florida in 2000, and what have Clinton or Gore done to fix that. Nada. So I get pissed off every time I hear a pol say something that he has no political will to actually rememedy.
Oh well. Hopefully I'll do a convention wrap-up when I get back this weekend.
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3 comments
( 7:24 PM )
MMMBop
Walking up to work yesterday, I noticed a line of teenage girls that went from Irving Plaza all the way around the corner. Normally there are just a few freaks waiting outside for whatever flavor of the month group is passing through town, but when a bunch of teenyboppers are hanging out, it's time to investigate what's going on. And it was no surprise to find out that Hanson was the draw. I didn't even know they were still around, but I have to admit I own their first disc because of "MMMBop." Like every other adult, I used to hate that song, but one day I saw them perform it acoustically and I actually heard the song under the glossy production and thought 'wow, that's a damn good pop song.'
Now I wasn't going to write this until I saw 4 girls (probably about 14) waiting outside of Irving again tonight. No one was playing, so I looked at the schedule and sure enough, Hanson is playing again tomorrow night. The girls had a tent, so it's not like I'm worried about their safety (actually, I never really thought about their safety, but in thinking about it now, I have to wonder about their parents ability to be parents. Maybe it's the Midwesterner in me, but I'm not sure that I'd let my teenage daughter camp outside on the streets of New York in a tent.).
Anyway, I started to wonder if I ever camped outside for a band and sadly, the answer is no. There's no doubt I used to get giddy over upcoming concerts and releases, but never enough to not sleep in my own bed (however a college buddy continues to make fun of me for the night he claims he was walking past my room at 6am and he heard me shout "Joe Perry" from my sleep the day before his new record was supposed to come out). I certainly annoyed the hell out of my dad to get him to take me to the record store the day Kiss Destroyer was released. And my parents most definitely annoyed the hell out of me when they wouldn't let me road trip to Cleveland from Columbus to go see the Rolling Stones on their Tattoo You tour (and
unfortunately I wasn't rebellious enough to " just do it", but I guess that's why I wouldn't let my teenage daughter camp out in the city either).
But the point of all this is the passion. I was pretty excited before the White Stripes Elephant came out, but since that letdown, I haven't really cared whether I saw band X or bought band Y's new disc. It just doesn't matter to me anymore. And that's nearly a tragedy in my life. Music used to mean more to me than anything, and nowadays it feels like work to listen to it. Actually, it's only new music that's hard to listen to (which is equally sad because I'm becoming a classic rock dinosaur). Just this moment I put on The Stones Let It Bleed with the intent of playing "Live With Me," but the snakey guitar crawl of "Gimme Shelter" hit me before I could skip forward and now I'm listening to the whole damn record.
"God have mercy on the man who doubts what he's sure of," is one of my favorite Bruce Springsteen lyrics, and truer words have never been written. I'm not sure what it is, but I think it's got something to do with my mom's passing away, my age, and the fact that I've spent so much of my life involved with music that I think I've heard it all before. I know that's not true, but it's been nearly a year since I got goosebumps or that little tingle. So I'm looking for that feeling again - needing that feeling. Cause it's the little pleasures that make life worth living.
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0 comments
( 11:09 PM )
Bush Sucks Ass
Ok - here I was, trying to write my little blog bit for the week when I decided to check upon the post I just posted. I read it through and everything was fine until I looked to my left (that's over this way <------- for our dyslexic friends) and I saw the little "Ads By Google" (that we normally would encourage you to visit).
However, I nearly poohed my pants when I saw the "Bush is my Homie" and "Support the RNC" ads. Now I'm all for 2Walls having ads on the side - especially when they're related to the content. Mike Walls puts a lot of work into this site and he most definitely should make a little extra cashola in the process. But I despise George W. Bush and don't know how I'm going to live with myself if there's an ad for that asshole next to my blog. Come on.
Look - I get a little rankled (ok, a whole lot rankled) when the President of the United States of America refuses to meet with or speak to the country's largest civil rights organization. Sure they have their differences, but you spoke to them when you were first campaigning for prez, and haven't since. So you wonder why there's a disconnect or why blacks vote Democratic nearly 90% of the time?
Actually, on second thought, maybe you shouldn't speak to the NAACP. The truth is your policies are skewed to the rich. Your brother just tried to purge a higher percentage of African Americans from the voter rolls in Florida than any other group. And you asked the US Supreme Court to rule against colleges with affirmative action policies. So maybe it's more honest of you not to suck up and pretend you're a friend. Because in reality, you're the shittiest president this country has ever had and whatever a jig is, I'll be doing one on election day when sensible American remove you from office.
So if there's a pro-Bush ad to my left (and I'm hoping there's not because of all the naughty words I've been trying to associate with him), please ignore it and go to John Kerry For President. Please!
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0 comments
( 10:43 PM )
Songs In The Key of Life
Spitball took a big leap forward tonight. Orcutt and I got the keys to the rehearsal space. Yep, I know many of you might think this is serious business and could lead to something more committed and monogamous. But don't get too carried away with that kind of crazy talk. No, the keys are merely a formality so that Yvan doesn't have to wait in the rain for our dumb asses to get there so he can let us in.
But we did take a step forward on the reunion path. We now have a date for Da Ball's first gig in New York City since November 1996. That's right - on Thursday, September 23, 2004 Spitball will play at my favorite live venue - the Continental - at 10:15pm. So save the date, wake the wife & kids & neighbors, and bring a video recorder to document this historic event.
Judging by tonight's practice, it could rock. Still working on a good cover song and the Doors' "LA Woman" came together nicely - fast, loud and punkish. And Yvan's new song, "Rules of Love," has that perfect balance of misogyny, affection, and stop-start rock that Spitball perfected long ago.
So we hope you'll come check us out cause it's gonna be good.
Ciao bella.
PS - If there's an ad for Bush or the Republicans over to your left, and you're not a billionaire, under no circumstances are you to visit it. In fact, if you're actually tempted to click it, don't ever visit this page again or I'll have my dad kick your dad's ass and do something naughty to your mom. Yep.
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0 comments
( 12:07 PM )
How 'Bout You
Um.....howabout those last couple of Yankee games with Jeter showing more heart than Nomar by jumping out of the field to make a play and then, the stupid Mets doing a Yank maneuver and coming from behind to get the win in a close one Saturday.
Or howabout that Fareneheit 9/11 that is funny and moving. I don't recall EVER being so angry after seeing a film. If I had a chance to be in a room with President Bush, the results would not have been nice.
Then, howabout those Democrats. I can't tell if John Kerry is running a perfect campaign or if he's totally floundering, but the polls seem to have him in a dead heat with Shrub. I'm thinking the rope-a-dope strategy seems to be working because the small man who leads our country is steadily dragging the American dream (of a rising middle class with opportunities galore) into a ditch and it seems to me that people are getting the hunch that we can do better.
And howabout that Ohio University "20" year reunion. I lived out my own true life "St. Elmo's Fire" when I got back together with a group of college friends that used to hang at the CI bar. More drunkeness, more babes, more sunrises, and best of all, more Bastion of Sillyness - which reunited in a slightly new form and had people dancing. My oh my.
Lastly - howabout me finally getting out of my music hole with Concrete Blonde, Rev. Horton Heat, Wilco, and of course, some Spitball, all waiting on deck. It's gonna be a musical summer, yes indeed.
So rock on with your bad selves on this Independence Day, and remember what TJ & The Boys wrote 228 years ago, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."
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